Digital skills are now essential for almost all occupations and workers in Australia. So how do we best incorporate them into VET courses? And how do we make sure our VET educators have the digital skills they need?

Join Steve Davis as he talks to Suzi Kuti, Head of Organisation Development and Learning at Metro Trains Sydney, and NCVER researchers Michelle Circelli and Bridget Wibrow about what teaching digital skills means for VET educators. They also discuss the integration of digital skills into VET delivery and why digital skills should become a key component of foundation skills.

This discussion refers to two new ‘Good Practice Guides’, which will be published by NCVER on 10 June 2020.

Thirty years ago, the Australian VET system was on tenterhooks as two major reports were released into the management and costs of training for enterprises against a backdrop of award restructuring that was being championed at the time by the government. How do the projections and goals in these reports compare to the reality facing TAFE today?

How has TAFE embraced fee-for-service, and are there myths and assumptions surrounding the size of the fee-for-service market and its efficacy or otherwise?

Steve Davis talks to NCVER Managing Director Simon Walker, Robin Shreeve, Adjunct Professor at Federation University and President AVETRA, and Craig Robertson, CEO TAFE Directors Australia about the next evolutionary stage in fee-for-service in the VET sector.

Are skill sets likely to take on extra significance as Australia responds to the shifting workforce demands and challenges, particularly in the health sector during the COVID-19 pandemic? ?

Looking ahead, can skill sets or micro-credentials play a role in getting vital competencies into the workplace so the economy can rebuild?

To find out, Steve Davis talks to NCVER Managing Director Simon Walker and Director Employment, Education & Training at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jenny Lambert. They start by defining what skill sets and micro-credentials actually are and the role they currently play in the VET system.

Online learning can be just as effective as face-to-face instruction if it’s done well. But what makes for good quality and good practice?

While subject withdrawal rates are higher and course completion rates lower for VET courses delivered entirely online, new research has shown that the outcomes for those students who do complete online courses are similar to those of other delivery modes.

Steve Davis talks to NCVER Managing Director Simon Walker and NCVER Senior Researcher Dr Tabatha Griffin about how online VET courses are being delivered, the outcomes for those who do complete them, and why students may withdraw or not complete online courses.

Qualifications are an essential part of the VET system, and therefore a key consideration in the broader approach to VET sector reform.

Join special guest Peter Noonan, Professor of Tertiary Education at Victoria University and Expert Panel Chair of the recent AQF Review, as he talks with Steve Davis and Simon Walker, Managing Director NCVER about the recently released Review of the Australian Qualifications Framework Final Report 2019.

Discussion focuses on micro-credentials, identifying general capabilities, the Pathways Policy, and the proposed new qualification types or classification of VET qualifications.

New research has revealed how young people’s post-school pathways are diverse, individualised and complex. Steve Davis, Simon Walker Managing Director NCVER, and William Stubley CEO & Co-founder Year13, discuss if the reliance on ATAR, the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, as our lens for evaluating educational achievements is too narrowly focused, and if so, what are some of the options for broadening our approach to understanding post-school pathways?

Competency based training (CBT) is the model of curriculum at the heart of the VET system and for some it’s a shorthand way of referring to the system of VET training packages, but critics are arguing that the VET sector’s reliance upon training packages is failing to meet the real-world needs of students and industry due to how they define and therefore teach competency. Steve Davis discusses this topic with NCVER Managing Director Simon Walker and TAFE Directors Australia CEO Craig Robertson.

Why do around half of Australian employers look outside the nationally accredited VET system to provide their employees with training? To find out, Steve Davis talks to NCVER Managing Director Simon Walker and NCVER researcher Ian White, who discuss the reasons why employers choose unaccredited over accredited training, and whether it meets their skills needs.

Steve Davis interviews a collection of presenters from the 28th National VET Research Conference ‘No Frills’, held on 10-12 July 2019 in Adelaide (80 mins)

While every student's journey is different, more and more research and discussion underlines the importance of workers becoming lifelong learners so they can grow and evolve with their jobs. And more than ever before, Australia relies on the VET sector to play a critical role in making this happen. Hear from a variety of VET experts about their ideas and research as they discuss how Australia can tackle the many challenges of the changing world of work.

It is hard to dispute that the apprenticeships model, which combines employment with formal training in a trade, is an effective way of developing skills while still earning a wage. So why do apprenticeship numbers appear to be so dire? To find out, Steve Davis talks to NCVER Managing Director, Simon Walker and National Australian Apprenticeships Association Chief Executive Officer, Ben Bardon, who reveal that the situation is more nuanced than recent media headlines might suggest. They start by discussing the difference between apprenticeships and traineeships, which can skew the perceived decline.